By Kim Thygesen, General Manager
  Modern American Recycling Services, Europe

 

SPEARHEADING A RECYCLING REVOLUTION - TOGETHER

The Municipality of Frederikshavn has just been named as a designated ‘climate municipality’ and part of Realdania and Concito’s project to promote a green transformation on a local level in Denmark[1]. And for good reason, because in Frederikshavn we have the great Port of Frederikshavn - a port that is on the forefront of the circular economy. This – as well as a great location - is one of the main reasons, why Modern American Recycling Services (M.A.R.S.) decided to set up the biggest purpose-based recycling facility ever built in main-land Europe in the Port of Frederikshavn, as we begin to decommission and recycle rigs from the North Sea.

The first hire – with 200 more to come
Welcome to my first piece as guest writer on Port of Frederikshavn’s LinkedIn-profile. I am happy for the chance to contribute and share mine and M.A.R.S’. stories with Port of Frederikshavn’s followers and stakeholders. Let me quickly introduce myself: My name is Kim Thygesen, and I have been selected to head M.A.R.S’. activities in Europe. I am honored to be a part of this innovative and important recycling project.

My first task will be to get the company ready for operation in late Q3 2019 and to set the local team. For this reason, we will soon start a targeted hiring process as well as start to mobilize materials such as wheel loaders and a purpose-built crane. More importantly, for this major long-term project, we are looking to hire about 200 people to help recycle the rigs in an environmentally-friendly fashion – perhaps more, even.

A 280.000 m2 of state-of-the-art green recycling-facility
We are looking to hire the best people around, because we have been tasked with the decommissioning and performing green recycling of the Thyra Field. And M.A.R.S. will be doing so with a brand new 280,000 m2, state-of-the-art designed facility, which will set new standards for environmental processes and efficiency – not only in the region but in the whole country. In the rest of the world, even.

Thankfully, the support from the local society, so far, has been spectacular. For this reason, we hope that the Municipality of Frederikshavn and the citizens of Frederikshavn will continue to support us, as we aim to attract skilled and motivated employees. We believe this can establish the town as a center for green growth in the region and for cost-effective recycling in the European Ports Industry!

Creating a recycling hub of international scale
It is no coincidence that we chose to set up our facility in the Port of Frederikshavn, as we see the port potentially becoming a major force in recycling – within the burgeoning circular economy. Together with M.A.R.S. the Port of Frederikshavn is taking its first step in leveraging its position as a major recycling hub in mainland Europe – generating many new businesses and thousands of jobs along the way.

Essentially, we believe that our partnership is going to benefit not only us, but it will benefit the municipality and the entire region. The circular economy is an important part of who Port of Frederikshavn is, and I am sure, it will be a catalyst for growth and prosperity. In short, we look forward to working together with the Port of Frederikshavn to spearhead a recycling revolution and a greener business future.

[1] Source: https://realdania.dk/nyheder/2019/05/dk2020-udvalgte-kommuner

 

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This post is part of Port of Frederikshavn’s blog universe, which we have called THE PORT VOICE. The blog has been put into the world to give the word to businesses and business partners of the port. The purpose is to create a channel, where we can share knowledge, passion and demeanour in an inclusive, engaging and non-profit way. The goal is to have as many businesses, organisations and partners of the port as possible to contribute in order to obtain a platform, where we can learn more about each other, pass on learning, wisdom or demeanour and invite one another into the world, each one of us find ourselves in.